200 years later, The Miami Student still shapes journalists and community

Sue MacDonald, a 1977 graduate and former editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, said The Literary Focus was a “high-falutin’ literary journal.”

Now, the student-run publication looks a bit different.

Instead of working at typewriters or writing by hand, students gather around Apple monitors, comparing notes and offering critiques.

Framed copies of previous editions of The Miami Student line the walls, along with Lego sets, Post-It notes and reminders to clock out.

Olivia Patel, editor-in-chief and Miami University senior, joined The Miami Student her freshman year following a summer internship at her county newspaper in Wisconsin.

Even though she felt prepared to join, when she actually did, “I got the wind knocked out of me.”

Patel was overwhelmed and felt “in the dark” after submitting her first story, but, she said, the newsroom was supportive.

“It was like, ‘Okay, here’s what you did wrong. Let’s build on this,’” she said.

Because of joining the newspaper, Patel has traveled to Washington D.C., New Orleans, Arizona, Cleveland and Columbus for events.

“All of those individual experiences have made my college experience feel just so much more expanded than a typical student,” she said.

Last spring, Patel was elected editor-in-chief. Two weeks later, she started planning the 200th anniversary celebration, in addition to her newspaper duties and classwork.

“This has been a long time in the making,” she said.

More than 100 alumni are slated to attend the celebration, plus around 50 current student staff and writers.

MacDonald, who has spent several months researching the history of the student-run publication, attended Miami University 1973-77 and was editor-in-chief of The Miami Student her senior year.

On her first visit to The Miami Student in the fall of her freshman year, she knew it was the place she “needed to be.”

“They were involved, creative people,” she said. “We were all news junkies.”

“We didn’t just learn about journalism or study journalism, we did journalism.”

MacDonald, who worked for the Cincinnati Enquirer for 22 years after graduation, said the skills she learned at The Miami Student weren’t only for career journalists.

“When I look back at my colleagues from that era, everybody went into a whole variety of positions in different industries and sectors because they were good writers. They were good storytellers,” she said.

Many of those storytellers will return to Oxford this weekend, with events starting Friday at a Circle Bar welcome party. On Saturday, there will be three panels of guest speakers.

The first, beginning at 11 a.m., is The Miami Student Through the Decades, featuring alumni from different time periods. A second panel, The Miami Student and Where it Takes You, focuses on how working at the newspaper prepared alumni for their careers. Journalism Today, the final panel, will address how journalism has evolved over the years.

Saturday’s schedule ends with dinner at Mac and Joe’s, and an open house will be held starting 9 a.m. Sunday at The Miami Student’s current home, the Armstrong Student Center.

To Patel, the weekend events aren’t just for journalism majors, but for anyone with an interest in storytelling.

“Putting together the newspaper is very much ... a common goal and a common love,” she said. “Seeing it to fruition is very special for forming relationships.”

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